Market Digest Nigeria

Explosions rock Maiduguri again

Powerful multiple explosions rocked Maiduguri on Tuesday night barely 24 hours after suicide attacks in the city killed 12 persons, including the bombers.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that at least six explosions occurred between 10:45 pm and 11:00 pm on Tuesday. About four heavy sounds were heard simultaneously while two other powerful explosions that shook the roofs were recorded some 15 minutes later. Unlike the previous explosions, the current blasts had a deafening sound, across the metropolis. Details of the explosions are sketchy at the time of this report. It is not clear where the blast occurred and efforts to get the details were not successful as none of the official security spokespersons were available for comments. However, a security source told NAN that soldiers had fired an artillery at a convoy of suspected Boko Haram insurgents who were trying to attack the city.

The artillery shots may have caused the explosions. Series of blasts have hit the metropolis of recent with the latest on Monday where 12 persons were confirmed dead, including the suicide bombers. The early Monday morning suicide attacks on a Mosque caused a protest by youths, who are aggrieved over the frequency of attacks in the city. The angry youths were reported to have attacked officials of the Borno State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), who were on rescue mission at the scene of suicide bomb attack. The attacks occurred at Londonciki-Simari area of Maiduguri. A female suicide bomber attacked a mosque in the area killing eight worshippers and 15 others sustaining injuries.

Two other female suicide bombers were killed at Mammanti area, an outskirt of Maiduguri. It was gathered that the attackers crossed the trenches in an attempt to enter the town at about 10:15 pm on Sunday. Soldiers guarding the trenches shot the women, causing the detonation of explosive strapped in their bodies.